“You’re perfect, Bluebird. Fucking perfect.”
“You love her, don’t you?” Wilder presses a beer to my chest, gesturing toward the dance floor.
Callie has Gracie in her arms while Olivia twirls Emmy under hers.
“Callie,” Wilder clarifies needlessly. “You’re in love with her.”
I swipe my hand over my beard. “I don’t know if I’m capable of loving her. Not the way she deserves.”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, brother, but you don’t get a choice in the matter. When I met Olivia, I wasn’t ready to accept just how much she meant to me. I knew if I let myself love her, I’d run the risk of losing her. One day, out of the blue, I realized something.”
“What was it?”
“That it was already too fucking late. I fell for her in the quiet moments when I wasn’t guarding my heart. She burrowed her way under my skin one touch, one smile, one kindness at a time. All I can do now is love her and try to keep her safe, knowing that someday I could lose her. Loving my three girls has brought me unimaginable happiness. It’s also robbed me of my sanity, and I might never know peace again, but I fall deeper in love with them every single day. I wouldn’t give that up for anything.”
I bring the beer to my lips and take a long pull. “When did you get so wise?”
“When I met Olivia Sullivan-Hayes.”
“It has a nice ring to it.”
He nods twice. “Callie Hayes isn’t so bad, either. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better woman.”
“He’s right, you know.” Like an assembly line of unsolicited advice, my meddling mother flanks me on the opposite side. “Callie’s special.”
“You think I don’t know that?” I growl defensively. “She’s too damn good for me.”
“You’re not giving yourself enough credit, my sweet boy.” Mama pats my cheek, gazing at me like she’s still seeing a much smaller, less jaded version of her youngest son. “You always did have a tender heart. That didn’t change when you lost him, you know. The walls you’ve built up to block the pain are also stopping you from feeling joy, happiness, and love. The bravest thing you’ll ever do is open your heart, and I promise you, it will have been worth it.”
“Head or heart?” I ask her.
“Heart. Always. It won’t ever lead you astray.”
“It led me all the way to you, Evie girl,” Pops says, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “Dance with me.”
Ruby materializes in front of me, now changed out of her pink bridesmaid dress into a pair of bell-bottoms and a band tee. She tugs on my hands. “Come on, Jaxy. You’re the best dancer here. You can’t stand on the sidelines all night.”
I let her pull me to the center of the dance floor before taking the lead. I know better than to think this is just a dance with my baby sister, though. She always has an ulterior motive.
“So… Callie looks pretty tonight,” Ruby says.
I let her go and twirl her back in. “Mhm.”
“Is that all you’re gonna say?”
I glare down at my sister. “Why don’t you spit it out, Roo?”
She rolls her eyes and flicks the brim of my hat. “Fine. Don’t fuck it up.”
“Wasn’t planning on it.”
“I mean it, Jax. She’s good for you, and I think you’re good for her, too.”
I scan the crowd until I spot her. She’s at the head table sipping on a glass of champagne. Liv pulls her in for a side hug, and they both throw their heads back laughing. She’s radiant, and I’m so unbelievably fucked.
“I hear you.”
Chapter 31
